19 legislative primaries Tuesday

Published 8:00 pm, Saturday, August 9, 2008

HARTFORD -- When voters go to the polls for Tuesday's party primaries, many eyes will be on Bridgeport's five legislative matchups.

In a state with 19 legislative primaries set for Tuesday, Bridgeport has the highest number of new registrations of any city or town: nearly 4,000 new voters, many of them Democrats.

"We do expect a lively turnout there, a strong turnout," Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz said, adding some races appear to stem from issues involving Bridgeport's Democratic Town Committee.

Of the 19 legislative primaries statewide Tuesday, 15 are for House of Representatives seats and four are for Senate seats.

A primary is also being held in the 4th Congressional District, where challenger Lee Whitnum collected enough signatures to force a Democratic party primary against endorsed candidate Jim Himes.

Seven primaries also are set Tuesday involving municipal candidates for registrars of voters positions.

Usually there are a dozen or fewer primaries, Bysiewicz said. She credits Connecticut's new public campaign financing system -- which gives grants to qualified candidates to wage campaigns -- with helping boost the number of legislative primaries this year.

"I do think that public financing levels the playing field and also encourages more people to compete," she said, noting that running in a state Senate race, for example, can cost more than $100,000 in Connecticut.

Statewide, there are 60 uncontested legislative races. That is a drop from the 71 uncontested races in 2006, the last General Assembly election year.

"That's a good measure of progress, and I think part of it is due to public financing because more people are willing to come forward and run," she said.

In Bridgeport, Tuesday's ballots will have four House primaries and one Senate primary. Several incumbents are being challenged, including Democratic state representatives Christopher Caruso, Andres Ayala Jr. and Robert T. Keeley.

Elsewhere in Connecticut, other legislative incumbents facing challenges include Sen. John Fonfara and state Rep. Marie Lopez Kirkley-Bey, both of whom are Democrats from Hartford.

The state representatives include Waterbury Republican Selim Noujaim and Democrats Corky Mazurek of Wolcott, Deborah Heinrich of Madison and Terry Backer of Stratford.

Some of the matchups are happening in districts where an incumbent is not seeking re-election.

For example, both parties are holding primaries in the race to succeed Democratic state Rep. Christopher Stone of East Hartford.

Three Republicans from Manchester -- Michael Crockett, Dennis Brenner and party-endorsed candidate Clifton Thompson -- are vying Tuesday for the GOP spot on the November ballot.

On the Democratic side, endorsed candidate Jason Rojas of East Hartford faces a primary challenge from Joseph Hachey of Manchester.

Voter turnout for primaries in Connecticut can range from 15 percent to 53 percent. That high point occurred when Democrats turned out to vote in this year's presidential primary.

Turnout for the Nov. 4 general election, which includes the president election, is expected to be close to 90 percent in Connecticut.